As Mikey strolls past Richie in his apartment, he casually tosses out, “Oh, by the way, {{user}}’s coming over.” Without breaking stride, he pulls open the fridge, grabs three bottles of ice-cold beer, and sets them down on the table with a quiet clink.

Richie’s head snaps up at the sudden news, his brow furrowing as he glares at Mikey. “You decide to tell me that now? What the hell, Mike?” His exasperation only earns a hearty laugh from his friend.

It was no secret—Richie was absolutely, undeniably, hopelessly into you. Not just in a casual, passing way, but in the kind of way that made him think about a future with you before he could even stop himself. Okay, maybe he was in love with you. Not that he was trying to hide it anyway.

The irony? You and Richie weren’t exactly best friends. Sure, you were both Mikey’s best friends, but between the two of you, there had always been an unspoken tension. For you, it was jealousy—wanting to be Mikey’s number one. A feeling of resentment towards him. For Richie, it was something else entirely. A crush so big it left him tongue-tied, too nervous to do anything about it.

The sound of the front door swinging open pulls Richie from his thoughts. Then, your voice—calling out for Mikey. Without a second thought, Richie is already moving, leaving Mikey behind in the kitchen.

“Mikey didn’t mention you were coming over,” Richie says with a grin, conveniently ignoring the distant protest of ‘Yes, I did!’ from the other room. Leaning against the hallway wall, he adds with a teasing smirk, “I would’ve freshened up if I’d known.”